The Pharos GPS 600 reminds me of a sofa bedit's neither a great sofa nor a really good bed. But it scores points as a versatile, unlocked smartphone with built-in Wi-Fi and GPS capability.

Cell phones continue to absorb features that used to require separate gadgets: cameras, MP3 players, and video players, to name a few. Continuing the trend, numerous phones with built-in GPS have hit the market recently. One such device, the unlocked Pharos GPS Phone 600, improves on the older Pharos Traveler GPS 525 by being an actual phone, not just a PDA. It also includes a faster processor and a 2GB SD card (compared with the 525's 512MB card) with full U.S. and Canadian maps.

Similar Products

The Pharos GPS Phone 600 comes dressed for success with a number of accessories in the box, including a set of stereo earbuds, an AC adapter, a car charger, a car mount/holder with suction cups, and a leather carrying case. On the software side, Pharos adds a nifty, icon-based "MobileMenu" interface to the phone's many features. Pharos also packs in a free three-month subscription to Smart Navigator, which gives you a points-of-interest finder and real-time traffic updates. After the trial period, the subscription costs $18 for 3 months or $66 per year.

Like most new smartphones these days, the GPS Phone 600 has a concealed antenna for a sleek appearance. It looks and feels a lot like the T-Mobile MDA in the hand, though its rubber backing and slender design give it a slightly more upscale feel. It's thinner than the MDA since there's no pull-out keyboard. As with the upcoming Apple iPhone, you dial numbers and tap out text messages with the touch screen. The difference is that Pocket PC devices always come with a stylus and often respond poorly to fingers, whereas the iPhone is designed for finger touches. As you can imagine, it's difficult to dial numbers with the GPS Phone 600.

At 5.2 ounces, the GPS Phone 600's weight falls between that of a Motorola Q (4.1 ounces) and a Treo 700p (6.4 ounces). It has a standard Pocket PC screen: 2.8 inches, QVGA (320-by-240), 65,000 colorsnothing new herealong with a pull-out stylus contained in the bottom of the unit.

Aside from the lack of a keypad, the GPS Phone 600 works as a pretty solid voice phone. Voice quality was well-balanced both through the earpiece and to other callers. I found the phone pleasant to hold and talk into, which is not something you can take for granted with PDA-style devices. Minor crosswinds outdoors didn't affect sound quality in either direction. The phone also sounded good when paired with a Plantronics Voyager 510 headset, though the speakerphone was too weakas was its GPS capability (see below).

Pharos built in a Samsung 400-MHz SC32442 processor, which generally performed well with Windows Mobile applications; in fact, it beat out the 400-MHz Cingular 8525 by a solid margin on our benchmark tests. The GPS Phone 600 supports EDGE and Bluetooth 2.0, and it even includes Wi-Fi 802.11b/g capability. That's a big selling point that compensates for its lack of 3G network support.

The real fun begins with the built-in GPS chip and Ostia navigation software. To test it, I took a 500-mile round trip from New York City to Chelmsford, Massachusetts. I also made several stops in Connecticut and took numerous side roads off-route. During the test, I compared the unit with a Garmin standalone GPS, the c330, and an older Mercedes in-car NAV system.

All three NAV systems were reasonably accurate and recalculated directions quickly when I drove off-route. But both the Garmin and Mercedes gave directions that were more explicit and easier to understand. The Pharos system frustrated me with vague voice prompts such as "highway junction ahead"which highway? which direction?and a complete lack of confirmation statements such as "now drive straight for 4 miles." I always had to check the display to find out what to do next, which is not enjoyable or safe when driving at 65 mph.

In addition, the tinny, low-volume speaker paled in comparison to the Garmin's more full-bodied sound. (The Mercedes system went through the car's stereo speakers, so that doesn't count). The Windows Mobile touch-screen interface also requires more precision than Garmin's. It's tough to control the GPS Phone 600 without the stylus, so forget about making adjustments en route unless you have a passenger to help out.

The phone's 2-megapixel camera takes photos at up to 1,600-by-1,200 resolution. Don't let the megapixel rating fool you, though; it takes muddy pictures with blown-out highlights. The GPS Phone 600 is rated at 5 hours of talk time and 160 hours of standby; it lasted 4:34 on my battery rundown test. To test the GPS, which lights up the screen the entire time, I began my car trip with a full battery in New York, but the phone died as I crossed the Massachusetts border about 3 hours later.

Fortunately, Pharos includes a complete cigarette-lighter power plug and windshield mount in the box, plus an additional AC charger for the house. You can slide the unit in the car, drive somewhere, and then slide it out and use it as a phone. When calls came in while the phone was in GPS mode, it let me take each call and then picked up the navigation where it left off. All in all, the system was easy to use with the dock and power adapter installed, so the phone's poor GPS battery life shouldn't be much of a problem.

As of this writing, Pharos had just signed a deal with Microsoft to include Live Search software preloaded, so phones with the new software should be available by the time you read this. The Pharos GPS Phone 600 is a solid effort, though there are compromises inherent to the hybrid Pocket PC approach because of the stylus and small screen. I'd like to see the Ostia software updated with better voice prompts. I'd also like to see a keyboard or keypad of some kind; the lack of one could be a deal-breaker for many users. But the phone's voice performance and numerous connectivity options means it's worth a look, particularly if you like the idea of combining as many gadgets as possible into one device.

Pharos GPS Phone 600

good

Bottom Line: The Pharos GPS 600 reminds me of a sofa bed&#151;it's neither a great sofa nor a really good bed. But it scores points as a versatile, unlocked smartphone with built-in Wi-Fi and GPS capability.

Read More

About the Author

Jamie Lendino is the Editor-in-Chief of ExtremeTech.com, and has written for PCMag.com and the print magazine since 2005. Recently, Jamie ran the consumer electronics and mobile teams at PCMag, and before that, he was the Editor-in-Chief of Smart Device Central, PCMag's dedicated smartphone site, for its entire three-year run from 2006 to 2009. Pri... See Full Bio

Pharos GPS Phone 600

Pharos GPS Phone 600

Get Our Best Stories!

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.